Steve's Writings

 

In the past years I have written, and included in my calendar, a somewhat autobiographical piece of writing. This year I have decided to, instead, make short notes on individual paintings included here. Of course, these notes are not necessary reading in order to appreciate the actual paintings. They merely offer some background to my work.

Steve Walker
Toronto, Canada

At Five in the Morning, 2004 and Cloud Nine, 2004
Over the years, I have created many paintings set in bedrooms, “At Five in the Morning”, being the most recent (“The Promises of Morning”, 1991, being the first). The bedroom scenario has always been interesting to me as it offers so many possibilities for visually dynamic poses by the models. As much bedroom activity takes place in a reclining position, the possibilities of interesting poses, angles, and scenarios are endless. In “At Five in the Morning”, as in many other of my paintings, the relationship between the two men is intentionally ambiguous. Are they boyfriends? Was it a one-night stand? Does one guy have to work earlier than the other? Are they happy or unhappy together? There are so many unique moments in a relationship (other than sexual ones) that occur in a bedroom, I do not see how I could paint about life without acknowledging this aspect of everyone’s life.
Although “Cloud Nine” is technically interesting to me because of the “bird’s eye view” vantage point and the juxtaposition of flesh and fabric, it is quite simply a painting about a feeling, and that feeling is a sense of peace. I feel that an attractive face, captured in sleep, possesses a beauty and peace exceeding that same face in a moment of animation. Perhaps watching someone sleep is the next best thing to sleep itself.
 
Carlos y Papaya, 2004
“Carlos y Papaya” is the first painting I completed that would be inspired by living and working in Costa Rica, Central America. To make it quite simple, in my opinion, beautiful flowers, fruit, and faces are everywhere. The country is a feast of color that does not exist in northern parts of North America. This painting is a representation of the aspects of Costa Rica that I love. Depicting the activity of eating was an interesting challenge in this painting as was working with a model who knew much less English than I have been accustomed to. Carlos (the model) was a young man from Panama working in Costa Rica. He was very professional and a pleasure to work with and I have since used him in two more recent paintings. The language differences were less problematic than I had anticipated, although while he was posing, I made the mistake of asking him (in “my” Spanish) to change his shirt for a vestido” (thinking I was saying “vest”). His eyes grew larger than normal and look of controlled shock overwhelmed his face. I knew I had said something wrong as he went on to explain that “vestido” meant dress. Vestido was my new word for that day.

Portrait of the Artist and a Young Man, 2004
I would say that this painting is autobiographical of my life as well as many other artist’s lives. It illustrates the artistic process from the inspiration for a work, to working with the model to be depicted in the work, to the eventual translation of that reality into a two-dimensional painting. The inspiration for the painting was the occasion that I had a model posing so to replicate one of the “Ignudi” figures in the Sistine Chapel frescoes of Michelangelo. The pose turned out to be much more unnatural and difficult to attain than either of us had anticipated. It actually seemed more like some weird game of “Artistic Twister”. Painting a “painting within a painting” is always a challenge as I must try to be as true to the original as possible. I found Michelangelo to be neither the most nor the least difficult painter to copy.

Plaza de Toros, Barcelona, 2004
I was invited to my first bullfight by a Mexican friend in Mexico City in 1991. He warned me extensively about the violent aspects of the event. I focused more on the beauty and spectacle of the whole pageantry and everything happening in the audience. I hate to say it, but by the end of the afternoon I had become somewhat desensitized to the actual killing of the bull: a frightening aspect of human nature. Three years ago I was fortunate to attend the bullfights in Barcelona, Spain. Having very good seats, this time, I was very close to the actual bullfighters. I found myself wondering about the lives and passions that led these men and others like them throughout history to this most unique, dangerous, and beautiful place. “Plaza de Toros, Barcelona” is based on that afternoon in Spain. Since returning to Canada I did more research on actual bullfighting and the lives of bullfighters. This inspired two previous paintings: “The Dreams of Men Still Young” in which a young man dreams of being matador, and “El Torero” which depicts a man practicing bullfighting. Although this piece was technically very difficult to paint, it was also exciting to paint. It is the first painting that I have kept for myself in many years.

A Glimpse of Eternity, 2003
“A Glimpse of Eternity” is another in the series of beach paintings that I have been producing sporadically since embarking on a career as a painter. Although the actual location depicted in the painting is of no real consequence, it was in fact, inspired by a pier in Key West, Florida. I have had several solo exhibitions in Key West, and have stood on this pier many times watching the sun disappear over the edge of the world. The artistic possibilities presented by the basic elements of water, sky, and light are an endless source of inspiration for me, as the surreal aspects of nature temporarily transform the actual world into a transitory piece of art.

Mano a Mano, 2004
From the beginning of my career as a painter, I have often focused on hands, their ability to express, and their connection with our emotions. I have always been impressed by figurative painting and sculpture in which the scale of the figures are considerably larger than life. In “Mano a Mano” the actual size of the hands is on a scale as large as I have ever painted (the actual painting is three feet by four feet). My intention was to depict, using only the hands, a moment between two people who are together yet separate.

Sun and Moon, 2004
Every once in a while I will do a painting that might be considered a nude. Most often in these paintings, what is “happening” in the painting is less important that the actual depiction of the human body. “Sun and Moon” is essentially a depiction of a person doing a mundane activity in a far from mundane environment. The lines of the body, created by the pose, are the focus of the painting for me. The title, of course, refers to the near eclipse of the sun and model’s buttocks.

The Ocean Calls, 2004
Although for me this painting is about a specific moment, on a specific beach, at a specific time, I hope that it has a more universal appeal to others. “The Ocean Calls” was inspired by a moment on a journey from San Jose, Costa Rica to Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The bus from San Jose snaked for hours through the mountains, nearer and nearer sea level, eventually stopping at the road’s end situated between the jungle and the barren beach. Sitting about fifty feet way, on a piece of driftwood, silhouetted by a surreal sky and water was this guy. I knew instantly that the moment would become a painting. If only there was such beauty at the end of every road or journey in life.

Street Scene, 2004
Having lived all my adult life in a metropolitan city (Toronto, Canada), I am no stranger to the myriad of scenes that occur in the streets under the guise of darkness. I have witnessed them and been part of them, been amazed by them and horrified by them. Because I know that people will bring their own life experience to bear on what they see in a painting, the crisis in “Street Scene” is intentionally ambiguous. In real life, when we witness such a scene we seldom know the truth of what is happening. We use our imaginations and past experience to create our own scenario. This painting is very autobiographical as it depicts a “scene” that I was a part of, that I thought about for many years before it actually became a painting. In my “street scene” I was the guy on the right. The other guy died.

What Child is This?, 2004
This year I finally realized a painting that I have been thinking about doing for many years. “What Child is This?” is based on my first tangible memory as a youngster of about four years. My godmother gave me a hideous old doll with no hair and no clothes. The doll became my best friend and the closest thing to a child. My first memory is of me and my doll sitting on the front steps of my grandfather’s house watching the kids play ball in the street. I think that I soon realized that “boys were not supposed to have dolls”. What could I do? Give up my friend and my child? I think that I decided that the doll was more important than what anyone thought of us. The little boy in the painting is the beautiful child of a friend of mine. I used him as a model when he was just a baby ("The Circle of Life” 2001) and again a couple years later ("Family by Water", 2003). When I was ready to have him pose with the doll, I handed it to him and he looked scared as though he should not be touching it. I had anticipated this and so I told him to pretend that it was his new two month old sister, and he immediately relaxed and treated the doll like a baby.

The Two Gentlemen of Portugal, 2004
I would have to say that a recurring theme in my paintings is the process of traveling and discovery. “The Two Gentlemen of Portugal” illustrates this theme. For me the painting is about two people sharing an inspiring moment. The architecture of the interior and the exterior depicted is based on a monastery that I visited in Lisbon, Portugal. The window motif recurs frequently in my work. I feel that windows frame a finite glimpse of life in much the same way that the frame of a painting does, so the viewer of this painting is actually looking through two windows.




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